Clemson Tigers: Tony Elliott says offense improved in short yardage situations this spring
The Clemson Tigers offense struggled in short yardage situations during the 2016 season. According to co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, that problem has been addressed this spring.
In an interview with Tigernet following practice yesterday afternoon, Tony Elliott was asked how the team has grown from the beginning of spring practice to now. Elliott had good things to say about the quarterback play, as well as the offense as a whole stating, “I thought our short yardage, goal line was improved this spring, something that was an issue for us last year.”
Despite the Tigers inefficiencies in short yardage situations last season, they were able to win the National Championship, due in large part to the play of Deshaun Watson.
Coming into the 2017 season Watson, a safety blanket for the Tigers offense over the past three years, is gone. Losing Watson means that Clemson must become more balanced offensively. The Tigers have capable quarterbacks in Kelly Bryant, Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson, however, all three are relatively unexperienced.
See also: Hunter Johnson making late spring push.
I thought our short yardage, goal line was improved this spring, something that was an issue for us last year.
An effective running game is every quarterbacks best friend, especially a first time starter. Clemson has a stable of running backs in Adam Choice, C.J. Fuller and Tavien Feaster, and an experienced offensive line. It sounds as though the Tigers are putting those tools to good use thus far.
Elliott’s words are good news for Clemson and bad news for the rest of the ACC. The Tigers were able to average nearly 40 points per game last season despite being one-dimensional offensively. With a balanced attack and a plethora of weapons on the edge, Clemson’s offensive could be scary in 2017.
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